Does Goa’s political smoke imply fire?

PANAJI: Political analysts say no, but the protagonists of Goa’s political drama have not stopped trying. On Tuesday, the Congress high command will talk to chief Minister Pratapsing Rane and GPCC president Ravi Naik to figure a way out of Goa’s latest political imbroglio.

The current crisis is a result of the intertwining of many plots and subplots. Naik, the MLA from Ponda, is gunning for the chief minister’s chair while Babush Monserrate, Congress’ latest king maker and Town and Country Planning Minister, is busy lobbying for Naik’s chair (GPCC president).

Monserrate got his panel voted in this month and took control of the corporation of Panjim city after defeating archrival Manohar Parrikar of BJP. This greatly added to his clout in the state. Now Monserrate says he wants the GPCC.

A close supporter of Goa in-charge Margaret Alva, he gave her a blue print of how he intended to revamp the GPCC. Monserrate also met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week with a prominent builder and apprised her of his plans.

Naik, currently in New Delhi, is meanwhile making backup plans. He has demanded that his rival Ramkrishna Dhavlikar be sacked as PWD minister. His calculation probably is that if Monserrate succeeds in hampering his chances of becoming CM, he doesn’t want to be left in the political lurch not being a part of even the cabinet.

Political pundits were of the opinion that Monserrate with the rich builders lobby behind him can transit safely from government to the organizational post while Naik, an ex-CM, cannot afford to give up his current post without a backup.

However, a new entrant into the equation has unsettled the plans of both Naik and Monserrate. Deputy CM Dr Wilfred de Souza came out in support of Dhavlikar, suggesting to Rane that de Souza’s enemy within the Nationalist Congress party (NCP) Francisco Pacheco, be dropped instead of Dhavlikar. De Souza and Pacheco have quarreled for two months forcing the NCP president Sharad Pawar to officially intervene. Now, de Souza intends to take his opportunity to rid of Pacheco.

Because the two politicians are clearly playing a personal gamble, Congress sources evaluate that a change is unlikely. The Health and IT Minister Dayanand Narvekar told DNA, “I have not been consulted, nor has the CLP or GPCC. It’s an ego problem, that’s all.”

That in turn confirmed what a form union minister told DNA, “This is clearly a turf battle. Each chieftan wants to control government, if he cannot, he will then try to hold his group together and wait for the next opportunity.” GPCC office bearer Dominic Fernandes is confident of that too. “Nothing is going to happen,” he told DNA.